336 ANIMAL FIGURES IN THE MAYA CODICES 



There seems to be only one glyph which can in any way 

 be taken for that of the eagle in the Maya manuscripts and 

 this appears only once, in Tro-Cortesianus 107c (PL 20, fig. 9) . 

 This identification may be questioned, as there is no drawing 

 of an eagle associated with the glyph. Attention has already 

 been called to the two stone glyphs in PL 20, figs. 1, 3. There 

 are various drawings of the glyph for the eagle in the Nahua 

 and Zapotecan codices (PL 20, fig. 8), as the Nahua day, 

 Quauhtli, has the meaning eagle. It is interesting to note 

 in the glyph from the Nuttall Codex (PL 20, fig. 8) the tips 

 of the feathers are crowned with stone points, a frequent 

 way of representing birds of prey among the Mexican peoples. 



Yucatan Horned Owl {Bubo virginianus mayensis). 

 Stempell makes a serious mistake by confusing the eared 

 owl shown in full face with that shown in profile in the draw- 

 ings, for he considers both to represent the great horned owl. 

 The figures are, however, quite different in every way. The 

 owl in full face view is unquestionably the great horned 

 owl (Maya, ikim), the Yucatan form of which is recognized 

 by the subspecific title mayensis. This is the bird opposed 

 to the '' Moan-bird " which, as will be shown later, is associated 

 with death. In PL 21 are some truly remarkable figures 

 which seem to represent this horned owl, the first modelled 

 in stucco from Palenque, the second carved in stone from 

 Yaxchilan, and the third carved in wood from Tikal. Figs. 

 1 and 3 show the bird in flight with extended wings. The 

 two erectile tufts of feathers or "horns" are conspicuously 

 represented in fig. 3, at either side of the bird's head and be- 

 tween them the flat top of the crown is secondarily divided 

 in like manner into three parts, representing the "horns" 

 and the top of the head. The beetling brows, heavy hooked 

 beak, and spread talons combine to give a fierce and spirited 

 mien to the great bird. PL 21, fig. 2, may be a greatly con- 

 ventionalized owl in which the essential characteristics of 

 the bird are reproduced in a rectangular design. The large 

 bill is conspicuous in the center, and in each upper corner 

 terminates one of the ears. The eyes are represented by 



